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Interesting Article About Ford's Ideal Ordering Model

Wanted33

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I've special ordered the majority of my new Fords since 1986. At first is was a 6-8 week wait. Then came my '20 Ranger in 13 weeks. The thing I question is manufacturers group builds together to streamline production. With dealers ordering white, silver, and gray cars all with back interior, and a few options that's fairly easy to do. When they go to the special order system, and customer orders are all over the specturm of options it may become harder to group them. And, I understand dealers concern that someone wanting a car will just go down the street to get what they want if they can't find it on the Ford lot. Plus, they'll have to train a lot of lazy Americans that have no idea on how to special order a vehicle. They walk in, and say I want an Explorer. Then starts the long arduous job of finding what they want on that Explorer, and it goes on and on. It'll take a salesperson the entire day to order someone a car.
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BuckeyeinNV

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I think if you could configure your vehicle online and walk into a dealership with a build sheet and a check, a lot of people would do it. Carvana and it's copycats have been increasingly taking used car market share away from traditional dealerships for awhile - even before the Apacolypse started - and they all require a longer wait time than a traditional buying experience. I watch videos are read more than I should about car buying and there are three things that stand out - people dread/get stressed out about car shopping at dealerships, they hate/mistrust car salespeople, and they almost always love their new car.

Also, they're not talking about cutting out dealer inventory altogether. If they make it easier for people who would prefer to custom order to go that route while maintaining the traditional models for those who prefer it, I think that's a good thing.
 

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I think if you could configure your vehicle online and walk into a dealership with a build sheet and a check, a lot of people would do it. Carvana and it's copycats have been increasingly taking used car market share away from traditional dealerships for awhile - even before the Apacolypse started - and they all require a longer wait time than a traditional buying experience. I watch videos are read more than I should about car buying and there are three things that stand out - people dread/get stressed out about car shopping at dealerships, they hate/mistrust car salespeople, and they almost always love their new car.

Also, they're not talking about cutting out dealer inventory altogether. If they make it easier for people who would prefer to custom order to go that route while maintaining the traditional models for those who prefer it, I think that's a good thing.
This is the crazy part. People are buying vehicles site unseen which is a complete 180 from how people shopped 20 years ago. I get what Ford is saying but it's not going to decrease vehicle prices like many people might think. Carvana is probably averaging as much or more PVR $$ than a dealer because it doesn't have the overhead so I see Ford's move as a way to capture more market share. Maybe trying to beat Amazon to the punch. Just a matter of time until they snap up several franchises and try for themselves.
 

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BuckeyeinNV

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This is the crazy part. People are buying vehicles site unseen which is a complete 180 from how people shopped 20 years ago. I get what Ford is saying but it's not going to decrease vehicle prices like many people might think. Carvana is probably averaging as much or more PVR $$ than a dealer because it doesn't have the overhead so I see Ford's move as a way to capture more market share. Maybe trying to beat Amazon to the punch. Just a matter of time until they snap up several franchises and try for themselves.
Yeah, I definitely don't think prices will go down, or at the very least it won't seem as if you're getting a better deal. Carvana's prices have always been a bit higher than traditional dealerships and they are largely responsible for the ballooning of used car prices in the last year (during the middle of last summer and beyond, they were way over-paying at auto auctions and on trades to hoard used car inventory). Ford even said this new model should reduce the number and dollar amount of factory and dealer incentives required to sell inventory.

The reason online selling has become successful is both because of convenience but also because people are willing to pay extra to remove the stressors of dealership buying. It's essentially taking the "one price" (aka no-haggle) model that was catching steam before Carvana a step further.
 

indio22

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This is the crazy part. People are buying vehicles site unseen which is a complete 180 from how people shopped 20 years ago. I get what Ford is saying but it's not going to decrease vehicle prices like many people might think. Carvana is probably averaging as much or more PVR $$ than a dealer because it doesn't have the overhead so I see Ford's move as a way to capture more market share. Maybe trying to beat Amazon to the punch. Just a matter of time until they snap up several franchises and try for themselves.
Because some people have lost their minds buying a vehicle they haven't even seen in person much less test driven. For some it's an image buy - so the actual functional match for the owner is less important. Will be interesting to see how it all plays out, once the reality of the vehicle sets in.

And yeah the reservation and early order thing, is part of a play by Ford, mentioned also in one of their key stakeholder meetings last week. Among other things to reduce incentives and in the end make more money.

The main reason I care about the early reservation/order thing, is because I only buy a vehicle that I have seen, touched, licked and test driven. :) And so Ford screwed buyers like me over as second class customers at the back of the bus.
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